Tuesday, July 24, 2007

iPhone Hacked Successfully - Security Firm Says

iPhone Hacked Successfully - Security Firm Says

A vulnarabilty has found in the Apple Inc.'s iPhone handset that can help an attacker to gain access to the private data stored on it. This flaw has found by a team of security expert of Independent Security Evaluators (ISE). Hackers could gain access to the iPhone through a wireless access point or through a website controlled by the attacker. This was the first major security incident reported.

Numerous hackers have been working to gain access to the iPhone in order to activate certain features or to allow it to be used on cellular networks other than AT&T Inc.'s. However, this is the first major exploitation of an iPhone security flaw.

The expolit is delivered via a malicious web page opened in the Safari browser on the iPhone, ISE said on its Website. There are several methods that an attacker utilize to get a victim to open such a webpage.

1. An attacker controlled wireless access point:

The iPhone connects to wireless Internet access networks, such as Wi-Fi, an attacker could create a network with the same name and encryption method as one the handset already uses. The attacker could then substitute a Web page with exploit code to gain access to the phone.

2. A misconfigured forum website:

A link planted on an unedited or unmoderated online forum, an attacker could cause the exploit to run in any iPhone browser that viewed the thread.

3. A link delivered via e-mail or SMS:

A link sent by SMS or e-mail to use make use of the flaw and gain access to the handset.

The ISE said that when the iPhone's Safari browser opens a malicious Web page, malicious code can be run on the phone via the flaw, allowing the attacker to read the iPhone's SMS log, address book, call history, and voicemail information, which are also then sent to the attacker. It could send the user's mail passwords to the attacker, send text messages that sign the user up for pay services, or record audio that could be relayed to the attacker.